Comparison of overlay metrology with analogue and digital cameras

Abstract

Overlay metrology is a very demanding image processing application; current applications are achieving dynamic precision of one hundredth of a pixel or better. As such it requires an accurate image acquisition system, with minimal distortions. Distortions can be physical (e.g. pixel size / shape) or electronic (e.g. clock skew) in nature. They can also affect the image shape, or the gray level intensity of individual pixels, the former causing severe problems to pattern recognition and measurement algorithms, the latter having an adverse effect primarily on the measurement itself.This paper considers the artifacts that are present in a particular analogue camera, with a discussion on how these artifacts translate into a reduction of overlay metrology performance, in particular their effect on precision and tool induced shift (TIS). The observed effects include, but are not limited to, banding and interlacing.This camera is then compared to two digital cameras. The first of these operates at the same frame rate as the analogue camera, and is found to have fewer distortions than the analogue camera. The second camera operates with a frame rate twice that of the other two. It is observed that this camera does not exhibit the distortions of the analogue camera, but instead has some very specific problems, particularly with regards to noise.The quantitative data on the effect on precision and TIS under a wide variety of conditions, is presented. These show that while it is possible to achieve metrology-capable images using an analogue camera, it is preferable to use a digital camera, both from the perspective of overall system performance, and overall system complexity.